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This part of SOKI is being used to develop the first assessment by the Antarctic and Southern Ocean research community (see MEASO Science Network for the international community network as well as acronyms commonly used for the organisations involved).

MEASO aims to facilitate contributions from the Antarctic and Southern Ocean marine science community to the 6th Assessment Review (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC), and other recent initiatives to assess status and trends in global ecosystems. MEASO is not intended to supplant the specific scientific requirements for year to year management but to complement that work with long-term assessments. It is intended to provide a forward-looking assessment of what trends in Southern Ocean ecosystems are happening now and into the future, and what may need to be planned for, in terms of research and management.

The aim is to have a quantitative assessment that enables managers to achieve consensus in adapting their management strategies to ecosystem change to continue to achieve their objectives for ecosystems.

This work was discussed broadly by the scientific community at MEASO 2018, an international conference held in Hobart in early April 2018, which also included a day-long policy forum. Background to the conference, including the program and abstracts, can be found on the www.MEASO2018.aq conference web site. The conference was supported by IMBeR ICED and CLIOTOP, SOOS, SCAR, and the Australian Antarctic Program to share relevant science, enhance community input into the design and planning of the MEASO, and to develop a work plan.

The first MEASO is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2019, for use in the IPCC AR6 as well as consideration by CCAMLR in 2019. Then work will commence toward subsequent MEASO iterations on a cycle that aligns with IPCC reporting (an updated MEASO, say, every 6 years).